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Game creation in JAVA-- API

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew a good Java API to use for creating games. Since I have almost no experience concerning this type of coding I would of course start out creating very simple games.
Hopefully games comparable to pong, pac man, snake, etc.

I thought maybe the 3D API by Sun was good. However I seem to recall reading that is has merged with OpenGL. I know that OpenGL is powerful but also accompanied by a somewhat steep learning curve. Can anyone confirm this? Make some recommendations, point me in the right direction?

If you are new to this kind of programming I would not recommend that you start off
with 3D. The games you mention are all 2D games and you can create those using
nothing but the raw java language. Core subjects for this are the
Component class' paint/update methods, double buffering and threaded programming.

i saw many advices saying start with 2D for learning basics.
they say there are not much differences in game-logic between 2D and 3D.

opengl is a simple graphics engine. ( compare to directx )
3d computer graphics concept require study.
but if you use high level libraries ( such java 3d )
there is no need to know about graphic engine details.
all scenes made using a 3D program ...
not coded by hand, such in raw opengl programming.

Here is a "game" I made, it's a forest of deers, hunters and trees,
You can set various parameters (repoduction rate, starvation limit for a hunter,
number of subjects etc.) and the goal is to make the forest live (no extinction
and no overpopulation) for at least 100 "ticks". The source can be
downloaded from the
same URL: